Gotta roll with Soul Food even though I love all the albums listed. Soul Food embodied Atlanta like no other album IMO. That album made me realize the love New Yorkers have for certain albums. You connect with the slang, the name drops and landmarks just brings you directly into the album. OB4CL... is a close second. I turned 16 the day it was released. Still the best b-day gift I ever got.

Ranking order:

5. The Infamous
4. Dah Shinin'
3. Liquid Swords
2. OB4CL...
1. Soul Food

Poll question: What's the best rap album of 1995?

Poll result (39 votes) Dah Shinin' (2 votes) Vote The Infamous (5 votes) Vote OB4CL... (17 votes) Vote Soul Food (9 votes) Vote Liquid Swords (4 votes) Vote Other (2 votes) Vote

______________________________________________________________
http://twitter.com/Gedi

"This is your world. Shape it or someone else will." - Gary Lew

it took a long, long, long time for me to get there, though. as recently as five years ago I'd have still been preaching it was only a 3.5/5 kind of record.


1: Chef Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (1995)
Overall: 9.44/10
Song Quality: 88 - 90%
Enjoyment: 5/5

2: Genius/GZA - Liquid Swords (1995)
Overall: 9.42/10
Song Quality: 88 - 89%
Enjoyment: 5/5

3: Mobb Deep - The Infamous (1995)
Overall: 8.99/10
Song Quality: 87 - 93%
Enjoyment: 4.5/5

4: Goodie Mob - Soul Food (1995)
Overall: 8.93/10
Song Quality: 88 - 89%
Enjoyment: 4.5/5

5: The Pharcyde - Labcabincalifornia (1995)
Overall: 8.84/10
Song Quality: 86 - 87%
Enjoyment: 4.5/5

6: The Roots - Do You Want More?!!!??! (1995)
Overall: 8.77/10
Song Quality: 84 - 86%
Enjoyment: 4.5/5

7: Kool G Rap - 4, 5, 6 (1995)
Overall: 8.36/10
Song Quality: 87%
Enjoyment: 4/5

8: Ol' Dirty Bastard - Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version (1995)
Overall: 8.29/10
Song Quality: 85 - 87%
Enjoyment: 4/5

9: KRS-One - KRS One (1995)
Overall: 8.25/10
Song Quality: 84 - 86%
Enjoyment: 4/5

10: Showbiz & A.G. - Goodfellas (1995)
Overall: 8.21/10
Song Quality: 83 - 86%
Enjoyment: 4/5

~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." © Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

That album has an atmosphere like no other.

Just a perfect compact banger from start to finish.

Intro is one of the best
Title track is insane
Deck bodies Duel of the Iron Mic and Cold World
Living In The World is classic Wu shit
Gold has the ill hook and the great subtle Meth appearance
Labels was original and had people talking
4th Chamber is the classic Wu banger
Meth feature was a highlight on Shadowboxin'
Killah Hills..."put bombs in bottles of champaign so when they popped the cork they lost half their brain"...come on son!
U-God came thru on Investigative Reports wih Rae
Swordsman is a sleeper
I Gotcha Back is an underrated classic
And how to top that shit off? Close out with an absolute banger from Killah Priest

Top to bottom greatness where as Cuban Linx was a little too long.

Also, I used to have Dah Shinin' I the same top 5 as those but fuck that, Doe Or Die is better and is up there.

Agree with everything you said about Soul Food. That IS what the south should sound like to me.

>That album has an atmosphere like no other.
>
>Just a perfect compact banger from start to finish.
>
>Intro is one of the best
>Title track is insane
>Deck bodies Duel of the Iron Mic and Cold World
>Living In The World is classic Wu shit
>Gold has the ill hook and the great subtle Meth appearance
>Labels was original and had people talking
>4th Chamber is the classic Wu banger
>Meth feature was a highlight on Shadowboxin'
>Killah Hills..."put bombs in bottles of champaign so when they
>popped the cork they lost half their brain"...come on son!
>U-God came thru on Investigative Reports wih Rae
>Swordsman is a sleeper
>I Gotcha Back is an underrated classic
>And how to top that shit off? Close out with an absolute
>banger from Killah Priest
>

I love Liquid Swords. The only reason I gave OB4CL... the slight edge is because it came out on my born day lol. I agree that it was a tad bloated. LS was concise with no filler in sight. Excellent LP!

36 Chambers is an all-time great album and I understand why people list it so high because it started the whole movement.

But I prefer LS, OB4CL and Ironman.

And to me that's how it should be...they got better as they practiced their craft.

That album is great. The skits ALONE are amazing. FUCKING HELLS BASTARDS!

Probably his last great album. "Rappaz R N Danja", "MC's Act Like They Don't Know", "Out For Fame". So much heat on this album.

and mos definitely his last great work

Cuban Linx is second, Liquid Sword 3rd...after that not much else matters...I can't believe those all dropped the same year though

RZA was at his all-time best on the boards while Rae and Ghost displayed some phenomenal chemistry.

______________________________________________________________
http://twitter.com/Gedi

"This is your world. Shape it or someone else will." - Gary Lew

______________________________________________________________
http://twitter.com/Gedi

"This is your world. Shape it or someone else will." - Gary Lew

______________________________________________________________
http://twitter.com/Gedi

"This is your world. Shape it or someone else will." - Gary Lew